[digital-copyright] RE: public domain/searching copyright records

["Croft, Janet B." <jbcroft@xxxxxx>]

Maybe check to see if the author is still alive or published with another
publisher?

How "make use of"? Could it be construed as fair use, not requiring
permission?

Janet

Janet Brennan Croft
Associate Professor
Head of Access Services
University of Oklahoma Libraries
Bizzell 106NW
Norman OK 73019
405-325-1918
Fax 405-325-7618
jbcroft@xxxxxx
http://ou.academia.edu/JanetCroft
http://libraries.ou.edu/
Editor of Mythlore http://www.mythsoc.org/mythlore.html
Book Review Editor of Oklahoma Librarian
http://www.oklibs.org/oklibrarian/current/index.html
"Humans need fantasy to be human. To be the place where the rising ape meets
the falling angel." -Terry Pratchett


-----Original Message-----
From: Colson, Jeannie [mailto:jcolson@xxxxxxx]
Sent: Tuesday, April 03, 2012 3:26 PM
To: digital-copyright@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [digital-copyright] public domain/searching copyright records

Ideas, colleagues?



A faculty member wants to make use of a book published in 1943. Books
published then were copyrighted for 28 years, unless renewed. The renewal
year, then, should have been 1971. Copyright.gov's search begins with 1978, so
is not helpful. Google, interestingly, provides the "Catalog of Copyright
Entries" that includes the original registration with the copyright office,
but not for anything after that. Publisher doesn't seem to exist since
mid-1960s.



Copyright office charges a minimum of $165 to do a search. Would you?
Would you be willing to risk that renewal wasn't done and that the item is
public domain?



Note: I can find images of first 6 pages (up to toc) in one university
library's website, but no full text anywhere.



What do you think? What's my next step?



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Jeannie Colson

Campus Copyright Advisor/Dist. Ed. Librarian

Lee College

Baytown, TX 77522

jcolson@xxxxxxx

281-425-6497